Philosopher Augustine and Aquinas

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Philosopher Augustine and Aquinas

Both Aquinas and St. Augustine are famously for not only their philosophical explorations but also the theological part of the same. While Aquinas wrote in the thirteenth century, St. Augustine did write in the late fourth and early fifth century. It is important to note that although the aim of both philosophers was to try and reconcile Christianity with ancient philosophy, they used different and contrasting ways (Shuger, 1997). One of the contrasting topics between the two is on knowledge. St. Augustine penciled much of his theory on knowledge from Plato. Unlike Aquinas, Augustine was no empiricist. St. Augustine heldthat through a process of illumination, the truth is found from within and not by merely observing nature (Whitehead, 1948). It had been the view of Plato that such knowledge emanated from the past experiences and was made possible when the good illuminates the mind to remember.

St. Augustine believed in Plato reasoning that true knowledge came only from within. The only difference from Plato is that the latter held that it emanated from ‘remember’ while Augustine believed that it was from ‘illumination’. Both Plato and Augustine held that the uncertainties couldn’t be taught. However, Augustine also held that it was through Christ that illumination occurred and the ideas came from. Aquinas on the other hand was empiricist (Whitehead, 1948). He drew a lot from Aristotle who was also an empiricist. Aquinas believed that we find truth through senses. Both Augustine and Aquinas agree on the fact that the ultimate object of knowledge is God (Shuger, 1997). Both also agreed that one can be acquainted with God through reason while it is impossible to fully comprehend God because man is just but God’s creation.

References

Shuger, D. K. (1997). Habits of thought in the English Renaissance: religion, politics, and the dominant culture (Vol. 13). University of Toronto Press.

Whitehead, A. N. (1948). Adventures of ideas (Vol. 103).CUP Archive.

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